International Day of Sign Languages

Hard of hearing and deaf people use a special system of gestures to communicate with each other. With its help, they interact with family members, teachers, work colleagues and sign language interpreters. In the process of communication, more than 70 million people resort to active facial expressions, hand waves and body movements. The dactyl alphabet is one of the ways for them to communicate using finger configurations that represent letters. To protect the identity and cultural diversity of the Deaf community, the holiday was established. International Sign Languages ​​Day is celebrated on September 23 every year. The appearance of the International Day of Sign Languages ​​in the calendar of solemn dates occurred in December 2017 at the initiative of the UN General Assembly. The establishment of the holiday by people with disabilities due to problems with hearing organs is obliged to the World Federation of the Deaf, founded in 1951. The organization insisted on the adoption of UN resolution No. 72/161 in order to attract attention to the deaf community and recognize more than 300 existing sign forms of communication as full-fledged ones languages. Adaptation of printed materials for blind and visually impaired people is carried out using Braille. For the benefit of the deaf, news programs and other types of television broadcasts are broadcast with sign language interpretation. People with hearing disabilities receive education, engage in sports and creativity, and have hobbies and interests. In many countries around the world there are social projects for their employment. The cultural-linguistic community of the deaf is a collection of social beliefs, norms of behavior, history, literature, values ​​and legal institutions that are affected by deafness. On this basis, people unite in closed groups. The community of the hearing impaired is also cemented by family and demographic traditions. According to them, marriages in most cases take place within the environment of the hearing impaired. The subculture of hard of hearing people has formed despite society’s attempts to make life easier for people with hearing loss status. Its manifestations are the publication of printed publications, the work of theaters of facial expressions and gestures, associations of artists and other artists, sports clubs and interest groups. 80% of deaf people live in developing countries with low levels of economic development, so most opportunities for social adaptation are not available to them. International Day of Sign Languages ​​calls for protecting the rights and freedoms of people with hearing loss and, above all, providing them with quality education in the international sign language. The names of inventor Thomas Edison, artist Francisco Goya, musician Ludwig van Beethoven, actress Whoopi Goldberg and other famous personalities will forever remain in world history. All of them had hearing problems, which did not prevent them from realizing their inner potential, achieving professional heights, and socializing in society. In modern realities, people with hearing loss only need knowledge of sign language and education, free access to which calls for International Sign Languages ​​Day.